New Hampshire Council of Churches Furthering Christian unity, life, and action in New Hampshire Testimony and Official Statements from Our Member Denominations American Baptist Churches of Vermont and New Hampshire Catholic Diocese of Manchester Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, New England Synod Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbytery of Northern New England Religious Society of Friends, New England Yearly Meeting Unitarian Universalist Association, New England Region United Church of Christ, New Hampshire Conference United Methodist Church, New England Conference Prepared for the House Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety Tuesday, February 19, 2019 140 Sheep Davis Road (603) 219-0889 Pembroke, NH 03275 [email protected] www.nhchurches.org Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................... 3 Joint Statement of the Council ............................................................................... 4 Testimony from the Executive Director ................................................................. 5 American Baptist Churches .................................................................................... 6 Roman Catholic Church .......................................................................................... 7 Episcopal Church .................................................................................................... 8 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America .............................................................. 11 Greek Orthodox ................................................................................................... 13 Presbyterian Church (USA) ................................................................................... 15 Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) ................................................................... 18 Unitarian Universalist Association........................................................................ 20 United Church of Christ ........................................................................................ 22 United Methodist Church .................................................................................... 23 2 Introduction Dear Representative, In this packet you will find three things: 1) A one-page statement supporting repeal from the ten member denominations of the Council, approved unanimously in 2010. 2) Summaries of each denomination’s official teaching in support of death penalty repeal, with links to full statements on the Internet. 3) For most denominations, current testimony from clergy and lay people living in New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Council of Churches comprises the ten denominations named in this packet. Together, these denominations have about 475 congregations and an estimated 500,000 members throughout the Granite State. This means that you represent members of these churches who live in your districts. They want to communicate to you their faith-based support of death penalty repeal. We have published further resources in support of death penalty repeal from a Christian perspective on our website at http://www.nhchuches.org/repeal2019. If you would like to have further conversation about Christian opposition to the death penalty, please reach out to me at (603) 219-0889 or [email protected] and I will make an appointment to meet with you. Yours faithfully, Rev. Jason Wells, Executive Director 3 Joint Statement of the Council Adopted by the Board of Directors May 20, 2010 The New Hampshire Council of Churches, an ecumenical Christian body of ten diverse denominations including Protestant, Anglican, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian traditions, regard the use of capital punishment as problematic and unacceptable. As Christians we believe that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26).In our human condition sin tarnishes this image; nevertheless, we believe that the promise of redemption is offered to all through repentance. Thus, each of us is called to respect the life and dignity of every person, even when that person denies the dignity of others. We must still recognize that their dignity is a gift from God and is not something that is earned or lost through their behavior. Respect for life applies to all, even the perpetrators of terrible acts. Scripture cautions us: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all” (Romans 12:17).From this Christian perspective we are led to conclude that the death penalty does not provide justice. Instead the death penalty perpetuates inhumane retribution, fosters feelings of revenge, and exacerbates a cycle of violence upon the perpetuators and victims without regard for that which is noble. These responses dehumanize society and blind us to God’s image in all; perpetrators and victims, rich and poor, young and old, Christian and non-Christian, no matter what color their skin may be. The use of capital punishment does not restore a broken society; it perpetuates the violence and injustice instead of condemning such intolerable acts. Therefore, we, the undersigned, condemn the expansion of capital punishment and call for the abolishment of its use in the State of New Hampshire, asking all to seek that which is noble. Member Denominations: American Baptist, Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Friends, Greek Orthodox, Presbyterian Church/USA, Roman Catholic, United Church of Christ, United Methodist, Unitarian Universalist 4 Testimony from the Executive Director Dear Members of the House Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety: The New Hampshire Council of Churches is an ecumenical Christian body of ten diverse denominations: American Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Society of Friends (Quaker), Greek Orthodox, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, United Methodist and Unitarian Universalist. All ten of these denominations unanimously regard the use of capital punishment as unacceptable and support its repeal. To summarize their faith, I'll offer three core Christian beliefs: the sacredness of life, that all are created equal, and redemption. First, in Genesis 1:26, we read that “God said, ‘Let us make [the human race] in our image, after our likeness.’” Christians believe that every human life is sacred, even when that person denies the dignity of others. We recognize that the sacredness of life is a gift from God, neither earned through good behavior nor lost through terrible acts. Second, that sacred dignity is found equally in every person since all people have the same divine Creator. Statistics on the death penalty reveal that the United States applies the death penalty unequally as to race, class and other categories. This violates the equality with which God has imbued the human race in creation. We want to believe that these shortcomings do not apply to us and that we serve justice more impartially than in other parts of the nation. Unfortunately Christians know that human beings are fallible and make poor decisions. We know that we will apply laws unequally. When it comes to capital punishment, we cannot trust our fallible selves to choose between life and death impartially or justly. Finally, God can redeem any person, no matter their past, and bring them to the forgiveness and mercy. The death penalty closes off the possibility of God's redemption through our presumption that we know better than God. For these reasons: the sacredness of life, human equality and redemption, I urge you all to support House Bill 455 and repeal New Hampshire's death penalty. 5 American Baptist Churches The American Baptist Churches of Vermont and New Hampshire is represented by 96 congregations in the State of New Hampshire. Resolution on Capital Punishment, 8064:3/82 As Christians living and participating in our society, we reaffirm and are acutely aware of: a. the sacredness of life and the obligation to “overcome evil with good” as taught in the Scriptures; b. the hope and possibility of all to come under the redeeming and transforming action of God; c. the fallibility of human agencies and legal justice; d. the immorality and injustice of capital punishment for persons later proven innocent; e. some inexcusable inequities before the law, enabling many persons of higher status and resources to avoid the death penalty while some persons without these resources are unable to avoid the penalty. The majority of those on death row are poor, powerless, and educationally deprived. Almost 50% come from minority groups…. f. the lack of clear support through the available evidence that capital punishment has a deterrent effect; g. the conviction that the emphasis in penology should be upon the process of creative, redemptive rehabilitation, rather than on primitive retribution. Therefore, the General Board of the American Baptist Churches recommends the abolition of capital punishment in those states which still practice it and urges churches and members of our American Baptist constituency to support groups and agencies working for the abolition of capital punishment in those governmental jurisdictions of the U.S. where it is still authorized by law. Source: http://www.abc-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Capital- Punishment.pdf 6 Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Diocese of Manchester is represented by 96 congregations in the State of New Hampshire.